Am I fixating too much? Is it part of ADHD?

[Pianoplayer28]

Ever since I’ve been taking Adderall I’ve been fixating on it so much! I’m happy to finally get the help I need, so happy that I have researched a bunch of stuff on stimulants, non stimulants, therapy, and the stigma of it all. I have multiple questions but one being is how do I work on my fixations? It can’t be good! My sisters get annoyed with me because I always talk about ADHD! I can’t help it. Ever since I found out I’ve just been so enlightened and want to share my discovery. I personally would never find someone annoying if they wanted to talk about mental health but I guess I’m different. I can talk about ADHD all day long. I could watch the same videos and read the same articles over and over again because that’s how fixated and interested I am. It’s a shame that my family doesn’t find it as intriguing as I do! And that’s why I love this website because I can talk about it as much as I want. But nonetheless I have a problem. How do I not fixate so much? Is it part of ADHD? I’m just so happy I finally got the help I’ve been needing! And being on a stimulant has changed my life! It’s hard to not want to talk about it.

[99cents]

As you already implied, having a sport group to share with can help. My wife doesn't want the level of focus I put into it. As far as sharing with her, I try to distill down what I learn to a couple sentences at a time or a very short article once a week or two.

I enjoy sharing what I've learned here. That helps.

Ithink recognizing what's happening and using "self talk" to describe things can help a bit with emotional fixations. CBT exercises, like recognizing why you're doing something and the reasoning, cognitive slips, and alternatives...

For example, what are you missing out on potentially?

I think it's easy with ADHD to focus relationships on sharing information. My wife likes to focus on shared experiences. I don't have a lot of suggestions here. I'm interested in other answers as well.

Great question.

[Gettingittogether]

It's funny: shortly after my diagnosis I started to date a woman. Later she moved away and we broke up ... One thing she said to me was that I probably talked too much about ADHD. She said I seemed to put my individuality in my ADHD. She said (and this was in a generous way) that I was "more than my ADHD."

But I was like you. The diagnosis blew my mind ... and in my defense and in your defense, it's a great thing to own this condition, especially when it makes so much sense to us.

Now, are you saying you repeatedly focus on the same things even outside of ADHD? If so, therapy can be helpful. Also tell your doctor who prescribes meds about this behavior.

[Pianoplayer28 in reply to Gettingittogether]

I’m glad you understand, and maybe fixation is part of ADHD because I remember when I thought I had Cervical Cancer I would talk about that for close to a year. And also when I worked at subw@y I would annoy my twin sister so much with how much I hated it there and would talk about it in detail for hours at a time. My sister ended up blocking my number for almost an entire year last year because of my fixations. She was upset that I would never actually listen to her problems. I felt bad…. Luckily when she unblocked my number she noticed and said that the Adderall is helping me so much to be a better listener and I’m so glad I can do that. But I still have a problem with talking about my ADHD too much. I can’t help that it’s who I am. I’ve grown so tired of myself for so long and would beat myself up for failing at my previous jobs that…. When I found out I had adhd, I just felt like I found the light… and that there was an actual thing I struggle with. There’s a name for it and learning about it helps me grow and be a better person! Oh and I have a list of therapists I’m choosing from, I can’t wait to start another journey

[Gettingittogether]

Good luck!!!!